Colorado State University receiver Preston Williams still 'suspended,' coach says

Preston Williams, a transfer from Tennessee, takes instruction from receivers coach Alvis Whitted during an April 4 practice. Williams has still not been cleared to play for the Rams this fall, coach Mike Bobo said Tuesday.(Photo: Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan)Buy Photo

LAS VEGAS — Receiver Preston Williams, a transfer from Tennessee who was expected to make a big impact for CSU’s football team this fall, has not yet been cleared to play, coach Mike Bobo said Tuesday at the Mountain West Football Media Summit.

“He’s still suspended,” Bobo said, declining to elaborate.

Williams, forced to sit out the 2017 season under NCAA transfer rules, was suspended last fall following his arrest on a misdemeanor assault charge for an altercation involving a woman described in police reports as his girlfriend at an off-campus apartment they had shared. Police said he shoved the woman while trying to prevent her from moving out.

Williams pleaded guilty to the assault charge, a Class 3 misdemeanor, on Jan. 23 and received a deferred sentence March 5 from Larimer County Court Judge Mary Joan Berenato.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior participated in spring practices but was still going through the university’s conflict-resolution process, Bobo said. A CSU spokeswoman declined to provide additional information on that process and Williams’ status, citing privacy rules.

Williams was a five-star prospect and rated the No. 1 receiver in the 2015 recruiting class by Scout, coming out of Lovejoy High School in Georgia. He originally signed with Tennessee and played in 12 games over two seasons with the Volunteers, catching 16 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news and listen to him talk CSU sports at 11:35 a.m. Thursdays on KFKA radio (AM 1310) and 10:45 a.m. Saturdays on Denver’s ESPN radio (AM 1600).

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